Cmt will launch a five-nights-a-week talk show and debut a scripted comedy starring Billy Ray Cyrus, the first time the Viacom-owned network has tried either format, as part of an ambitious effort to grow its audience.

“It’s the biggest, broadest attack we’ve ever mounted,” said Jayson Dinsmore, executive vice president of development for Cmt, in an interview. “If feels like we have a lot of avenues with which we can hopefully cume a much bigger audience over time.”

The new programming comes as Cmt met with mixed performance in 2014. The network was able to gain in the amount it charged distributors to run its programming, moving to 12 cents per subscriber per month compared with 11 cents in 2013, according to market-research firm SNL Kagan. Ad revenue at Cmt fell 3.1% to about $114.5 million in 2014, according to Kagan, compared with around $118.2 million in the previous year. Executives are hoping to make further
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Chelsea Handler is parting ways with longtime collaborators Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack, her partners at the comedienne’s Borderline Amazing. Both have exited as Handler is overhauling the executive ranks of her production company. They are expected to be replaced.
The move comes as Handler is heading into production on four docu-comedy specials for Netflix and will soon start prepping for her upcoming talk show — all part of her deal with the streaming giant. In the…
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